When most of us write incident report press releases for consumption by the public they are fact based with very little latitude for creative license. One way I “spice” up a release for the media is by offering quotes. I do this in a number of ways – by adding quotes into the body of the release, offering a number of quotes separate from the release at the bottom of the page or prepare a separate page to go along with the release that just contains lead-ins with the relevant quotes.
Different media outlets I deal with handle my releases in a variety of ways. Some publish what I write verbatim. In advance I know when I distribute to these types of outlets that the story must be totally canned with relevant quotations.
Other outlets will do a totally rewrite on my release to make it more reader friendly and interpret some of the firematic jargon that I need to include with a formal release. These outlets appreciate quotes listed separately at the bottom of the release.
Still others use a reporter to write a totally unique story, use my release for facts and benefit from a separate sheet of quotes with lead-ins. A lead, in most instances for me, is a question with the quote as a response. For example –
Where did the fire start?
Chief of Department Jones responded -
“The fire started in the back room of the residence. At this time it appears it was electrical in nature.”
Also on The Fire PIO…
- Two Types of Press Releases – January 5, 2011
No Comments